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Bskanksters

Just depositing some thoughts on the topic of banking. In my next life, Id like to come back as a bank. What a life!

But seriously, the shit surrounding so many major corps is really starting to stink!! I'm thinking there should be some type of fee assessed here, since that's the way banks like to handle things. How about "DBT Fee" Doing Business with Terrorists Fee?

Matt Taibbi said it best:

Wow. So the executives who spent a decade laundering billions of dollars will have to partially defer their bonuses during the five-year deferred prosecution agreement? Are you fucking kidding me? That's the punishment?

What else would you expect of an industry based on the dual frauds of fiat money and fractional-reserve banking, existing only through the largess of a political class declaring their crimes "legal" for a cut of the take? That bit of historical prestidigitation naturally set the stage for a Nixonesque "If we do it, it's not really illegal."

Oh, yes. It's all about "fiat money" and "fractional reserve banking." I mean, without those, it would be impossible to help someone hide the source of their income, right? And no one would ever fund anything shady, like drugs or war or assassination?

Or is this just a paper-thin attempt to derail YET ANOTHER thread onto your own personal hobby horse?

Oh, yes. It's all about "fiat money" and "fractional reserve banking." I mean, without those, it would be impossible to help someone hide the source of their income, right? And no one would ever fund anything shady, like drugs or war or assassination?

Or is this just a paper-thin attempt to derail YET ANOTHER thread onto your own personal hobby horse?

Fiat money was essentially created to fund warfare, FWIW, because governments couldn't afford wars if they had to be paid for up front with real wealth, so there's a lot of truth in your statement. As for hiding income and drugs, I've got nothing against either one, and it's probably best I not offer my opinion on assassination.

The point was that governments have been turning a blind eye to the machinations of their bskankster buddies in return for their support for about as long as there have been either one, so seeing banks walk away scott-free for things that would put mere mortals behind bars shouldn't be a shock to anybody.

Fiat money was essentially created to fund warfare, FWIW, because governments couldn't afford wars if they had to be paid for up front with real wealth, so there's a lot of truth in your statement. As for hiding income and drugs, I've got nothing against either one, and it's probably best I not offer my opinion on assassination.

The point was that governments have been turning a blind eye to the machinations of their bskankster buddies in return for their support for about as long as there have been either one, so seeing banks walk away scott-free for things that would put mere mortals behind bars shouldn't be a shock to anybody.

Money was created to fund warfare, Don. Money was also created for other things too as has fiat money. So please, get off that hobby horse and actually stick to the discussion at hand.

Settlements like these happen all the time (and not just for drug-related offenses), or at least it seems that way. If the penalty for robbing a bank was you had to give (some of) the money back, then there would a line of people in ski masks stretching down the block...

So, going beyong the "not surprised" reaction, I'd like to once again mention my "fee-based solution". In addition to the (meager) penalty already assessed (1.9 bil = 5 weeks skanky-bank income) I believe a $5 fee on each (deposit or withdrawal) transaction* for the five-year probation period would serve as a reminder as to the level of "trust" involved in financial exchanges. WTF???

Smartphones and tablets, by contrast, are radically changing bank customers' behaviour, causing them to visit their branch far less often but sharply to increase the number of transactions with their bank. When banks first introduced very basic mobile-banking systems that allowed customers to check their balance by text message, interactions went up from an average of nine to 20 a month, says CeCe Morken of Intuit, a maker of personal-finance software used by consumers and banks. When banks started to produce banking applications for smartphones with touch-screens, “we got shocked because engagement went up into the 30s,” says Ms Morken.
. . . It reckons that the cost of handling a customer transaction via an automated telephone system is just 6% of what it would be in a branch. Some 93% of all of its customer transactions are now self-service.